18th February 1999

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Researchers at the University of Ulster have developed a revolutionary technique for removing the female sex hormone oestrogen - and other pollutants which mimic its effect - from our water supply.

Oestrogen pollution - which comes from female contraceptive and HRT products, is an increasing problem in the UK water supply. The hormone is known to be responsible for causing sexual malfunctions in fish, birds and mammal - including humans - at low levels of pollution.

But the UU's Photocatalysis Research Team, led by Dr Brian Eggins, has come up with a simple and 100% effective treatment which destroys oestrogen in the water supply. Increasingly, anglers report finding hermaphrodite fish, whose sex organs have been affected by oestrogen pollution.

"Conventional sewage and water treatment methods don't remove oestrogen from the water supply," said Dr Eggins based on titanium dioxide," said Dr Eggins. "But here at Jordanstown, we've discovered that if you shine an ultraviolet light on titanium dioxide, the titanium becomes activated, and capable of converting the oestrogen to CO2 - the harmless everyday gas that puts the bubbles in your fizzy pop."

Titanium dioxide is a harmless, cheap white pigment which is used in paints, creams and toothpastes, and is inert and non-toxic. Because it is a catalyst, it is not destroyed or used up by the UV treatment, and remains effective indefinitely.

Treatment with UV-activated titanium dioxide also removes the need to add any chemicals to the water supply to purify it. That's a good thing, says Dr Eggins, because these chemical additives can often cause other problems further downstream.

Team researcher Heather Coleman is optimistic that the treatment will be effective against a number of other pollutants in our water supply which mimic the effects of oestrogen, especially common agricultural pesticides like DDT, products containing polychlorobiphenyls, and some detergents used in industrial cleaning processes. These compounds and their residues are increasingly finding their way into the public water supply, and are not completely removed by conventional water treatment methods, but the Jordanstown research team are presently assessing the effectiveness of the titanium treatment in destroying them.

The new treatment has a welter of potential uses, most clearly in treating the public water supply to remove the sex hormone, as well as in industry to prevent oestrogen sex hormone residues reaching the water supply in the first place.

The University's Photocatalysis Team are presently constructing a pilot treatment plant in collaboration with Lisburn-based engineering firm Texam, which is expected to go into operation by end March.

The research has been grant aided both by the IRTU and the EU.

For further information, please contact:

Press Office Department of Communication and Development
Telephone: 028 9036 6178
Email: pressoffice@ulster.ac.uk